Here’s how close Diego Pavia came to winning the 2025 Heisman Trophy
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Diego Pavia has made Vanderbilt football history, even if he didn’t win the Heisman Trophy.
The outspoken signal-caller transferred to Vandy from New Mexico State in 2024 and immediately helped elevate the program. The Commodores — who won nine games in the previous three seasons combined — finished 7-6, made a bowl for the first time since 2018, and won a bowl for the first time since 2013. The season also featured a 40-35 win over Alabama, the program’s first-ever win over a No. 1 team.
In 2025, though, after an injunction allowed him another year of eligibility despite playing two seasons at the junior college level, Pavia stepped things up in a big way. He was third in the SEC in passing yards with 3,192 and led SEC quarterbacks with 27 passing touchdowns. He also added eight touchdowns on the ground, ending the regular season having accounted for 35 touchdowns. Pavia was the driving force behind the Commodores’ first-ever double-digit win season.
Though Pavia ultimately didn’t win the Heisman, he became the first player in program history to finish top three in the voting. It caps what’s been a tremendous two years in Nashville.
Heisman Trophy vote totals 2025
According to the official Heisman Voting totals, Pavia finished 2nd behind Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza. Pavia earned the second-most first-place votes with 189 while Mendoza totaled 643.
Here are the final Heisman Trophy voting numbers for 2025:
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
